The present invention relates to methods and systems for encryption and decryption and authentication of message recipients. More particularly, it relates to methods and systems incorporating small application programs using a single, symmetric key algorithm, and which are suitable for rapid downloading.
With the rapid growth of computer to computer communications there is a growing need for security systems to protect sensitive information such as business information, credit card numbers, and the like. This is particularly true since most such communications are routed through third party systems known as servers. Existing systems typically provide server based security and require client trust in the server to protect the privacy and data integrity of messages during the delivery process. Other systems provide end-to-end privacy and data integrity but require an underlying public key infrastructure or large applications running in either the client's computer or the server.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and systems for providing end-to-end security for clients, where the methods and systems incorporate simple, small algorithms suitable for rapid downloading to clients.